Not quite like the Old Days
by Leomeome
Summary: After escaping Hogwarts and the Dementors, Sirius spends a summer at Remus' place. But thing aren't quite how they used to be before their world was torn appart. Ch 1: 'Lost Years' is now up. No slash.


Disclaimer: I am not the one who had the genius to write the Harry Potter books. It was all J.K. Rowling who did it.

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The full moon shone brightly over the forests around Hogwarts. A lonely bird's cry resounded, then all was quiet again. Every animal in the surrounding seemed to hold its breath. Tonight a _werewolf _was roaming through the woods.

The creature scuffled around near its latest prey, uttering soft, happy grunts. The dead centaur was still holding his bow, the arrow protruding from a tree nearby.

The werewolf was just about to have its meal when another arrow flew just over him. Whining, it looked up to face a dozen more centaurs, yelling at him furiously. A third arrow hit the wolf straight in his shoulder. The creature whined more loudly. It knew it was overpowered and ran away instantly, leaving the centaurs to mourn for their lost comrade.

As the wolf started to limp, he began to slow down. Finally he stopped to howl his complaints to the moon.

About a mile away Sirius Black heard the noise. He was tempted to turn Sharpbeak around and search for his friend; he wanted to make sure the wolf didn't get himself into any trouble. It would be very dangerous, however, to linger around Hogwarts grounds, so close to the place he had escaped. He looked back the way he had come from. Several small figures on a broom circled the grounds near the castle, confirming his suspicions. Quickly but carefully he pressed his heels in the flanks of his Hippogriff and clung to its neck as they sped off into the night.

Sirius hesitated before he used his old key to open the door. He felt like a burglar, Remus probably didn't even know he still had the key to his apartment. _Sirius_ hadn't yet known it until he found it on the ring he had managed to steal away from his house with his Gringotts key.

Of course, the werewolf now knew that Sirius was innocent, an enormous relief for the fugitive wizard. The thought of Remus suddenly returning home and finding him there had stopped Sirius from going earlier. Now, he did not have any other place to go; he couldn't go to his inherited house, it would probably be extra heavily guarded now that he was on the run. The cave near Hogsmeade he had used all year was too close to Hogwarts and the 'Shrieking Shack' was completely out of the question for that reason.

The apartment looked exactly as Sirius remembered it. The furniture was still the same and looked a bit ragged and dusty. The floor was also covered in dust and rags of cobweb were hanging down the ceiling; obviously Remus hadn't been here for nearly a year.

'_Scourgify!_' Sirius exclaimed as he pointed to the floor and the various pieces of furniture in turn. Then he made himself some tea and sat down on the couch. His eyes drifted over the various pictured on the wall. Sirius was glad to see Remus hadn't removed the pictures of him. He saw a picture of the four Marauders at school, one of James on his broom, the photograph of James' and Lily's wedding, one of Sirius, leaning proudly against a new motorcycle and many more.

A picture of him and Peter together particularly caught his eye, they were applauding; Sirius mockingly but Peter sincerely (he even cheered now and then). The two of them were looking up -Sirius guessed at James- and standing on the Quidditch-field of Hogwarts. He felt a surge of loathing when he looked at the rat-like face of Pettigrew. He didn't see a little, excited boy; he saw a dirty, sly traitor. Fuming, he pulled the picture of the wall and threw it through the room with all his force. It smashed to the wall and a tinkling noise was heard as the glass smashed into a thousand pieces.

Sirius didn't bother to clean up and stomped around the room. Pettigrew had gotten away _again _this night; he still hadn't paid for his crimes and was walking this earth freely while he, Sirius, was in hiding once more.

He looked at the picture of James and Lily again. They were smiling so happily, Sirius couldn't even remember that such a happy smile was possible. They would smile no more…

Suddenly, Sirius felt very tired, he looked around to find an old blanket in the newspaper rack. It felt very inappropriate to go and sleep on Remus' bed so he settled on the couch. It was very late but it took him long to fall asleep. Finally, as the sky in the east was already lighting up, he drifted away in a dreamless slumber.

The smell of baked eggs woke him. He must have slept deeper than he thought because someone had managed to get into the house and in the kitchen and start cooking without waking him. Quickly, Sirius sat up and grabbed his wand. He knew the person in the kitchen could only be one person but he wanted to make sure. The dark-haired man lifted himself from the couch and sneaked to the kitchen, only to suddenly bump into somebody else who was just coming out.

'Good afternoon Sirius.' a slightly hoarse voice sounded from the floor.

Sirius looked down on his old friend Remus Lupin with a lopsided grin. 'I'm sorry about that Moony, didn't mean to knock you over.' He helped the other man up and looked at him closely; he had the first chance to do so in twelve years. He didn't like what he saw; his friend had aged much more than he should have. Deep lines and covered his face and there was far too much gray in his hair. He also looked very pale but Sirius ascribed that to the last night, in which Remus had roamed though the forest.

Remus stepped back, 'Err... would you like to take a shower before we have lunch?' he asked tentatively. The escaped prisoner from Azkaban chuckled and slapped his friend on the shoulder. 'As you wish, my old pal.' He turned around and walked into Remus' bedroom.

Sirius was quite sure Remus didn't mind if he wore some of his clothing. His own were extremely dirty and smelly. As he peeled the stained rags off him, Sirius became moody again. Seeing his youth-time friend again made him feel his lost years especially hard. Being in Azkaban, he had missed out on so much and now he felt like he was already near the end of his life. He and his friend would never have fun like they had in the old days ever again.

The shower made Sirius feel somewhat better and after he had shaved and cut his hair he looked daringly into the mirror. A very bony and ghostlike face looked back at him but it wasn't as bad as Sirius had feared. His eyes were still sparking brightly and his hair looked a lot better now that it wasn't hanging down his sides in knots. Pulling on some of Remus' most patched clothes, which were a bit short but otherwise fit him fine, also made him feel more alive. The clean material rubbed against his now smooth skin and he felt ready to show up at Remus' lunch table.

Two large plates, heaped with eggs, bacon, toast and sausages, were standing on the table and Sirius felt his stomach rumbling loudly. Remus heard it as he walked in with a can of juice and smiled gently at him.

'Don't mind any courtesy, go ahead.' he urged. Sirius needn't be told twice and attacked immediately without even bothering to sit down. He just took up the plate and a fork and started shoving food in his mouth as Remus poured some juice into a glass. Over his mouthfuls, Sirius noticed the other man was moving his left arm very stiffly. The werewolf must have gotten himself into some sort of mess over night.

Remus grabbed Sirius' wrist and forced him to sit down and put back his plate, then he handed him his glass of juice. 'Drink.' he simply said. He looked amused when the other man nearly choked as he tried to gulp down the juice through his dry throat. Remus slammed his friend's back until he managed to swallow.

'Thanks.' Sirius mumbled. He slowed down his eating and Remus went to sit at his own plate. The two of them finished their meal in silence then sat back in their chairs. For the first time in twelve years, Sirius felt completely calm.

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A/N: Sigh… I was a bit in a sad mood when I wrote this and some parts of this chapter came out a bit depressing. But I promise the story will get happier. Especially if you review --> happy me. 


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